Winter Wonderland
by JPMod
Summary: The first snowfall of winter arrives at Upperton U for the Holiday Season.  Story 15 of the 'Kim Possible: The University Years' series.


In response to feedback regarding "A Bon-Diggity Tweebs' Day":

cl – Hmmm… That maybe not a bad idea for a story, I just have to find a story idea to fit the people. Not easy, compared to the Tweebs.

Yeah, I figured Duff would get boiled over if he kept hearing 'skirt' instead of 'kilt'. It fit the Tweebs' personalities to tease and torment people to madness. It's their nature anyway. :D

And I'm glad you're enjoying the TUY series, cl. :)

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Big thanks to all who read "A Bon-Diggity Tweebs' Day." :-)

Once again, great big thanks again goes to Spitfire F.22 for beta reading for me. Thanks, dude! You rock! (big grin)

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Disclaimer: All Kim Possible characters are the copyright of Walt Disney Corporation. I'm just  
borrowing them to write up a story with no intention of making any money. This is for fun. All other characters in my stories, that Disney doesn't own, are mine. :)

A/N: This story is what I imagine the TUY gang would be doing on the first snowfall to arrive at Upperton U during the Holiday Season. Some fun times for the gang. :)

Story rating: Rated K+ (aka PG)  
Written: October/November 2005

Summery: The first snowfall of winter arrives at Upperton U for the Holiday Season.

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_Kim Possible: The University Years_

Winter Wonderland  
By JuPMod (aka JPMod)

_Sleigh bells ring, are you listening,  
In the lane, snow is glistening  
A beautiful sight,  
We're happy tonight.  
Walking in a winter wonderland.  
_

Those were the lyrics heard from the overhead speakers in the lobby of Upperton University's main athletic complex, and the song was certainly fit for the occasion. An artificial Christmas tree, all decorated with blinking lights, was beside the reception desk, and various hollies, tinsel, and other decorations were on the walls, counters, etc. Outside through the windows and glass doors, one could see snow falling, accumulating on the ground.

From the corridor leading to the dojo, two junior-year students emerged. One was a beautiful redhead woman, who wore jeans and a purple winter parka, and carried a small backpack on her back. The other was a blonde man, who wore warm slacks and a blue winter parka, and he currently carried his backpack by hand. They both gazed out at the falling snow through the glass doors.

"Looks like we've gained a couple more inches of snow since we've arrived, KP," Ron Stoppable mentioned as he took in the amount of snow already on the ground outside.

"Yeah," Kim Possible agreed with her steady boyfriend, her shoulder-blade length red hair all loose and free down her back. "At this rate, we might get a foot of snow before noon." Her head turned to face him as his did to her.

Ron's lips curled into a small smirk. "No classes today?"

Kim gave a small grin, sighing. "Possible. We just have to listen at the student center for any announcements." She knew Ron would love to cut classes, but even one day of class cancellations might roll back their school time for a week. Oh, it was no problem for any of the students who could walk to class from the on-campus dormitories, but it might be difficult for those living outside the campuses to get to class if the snow made driving hazardous.

Two days ago, it had been announced on the news that the Tri-City area would have its first snowfall of the season today. It was to start sometime in the very early morning and not likely stop until sometime past noon. Surely enough, when Kim and Ron left their dorms sometime past 6:30 AM to do their martial arts workout, the ground already had an inch or two of snow. For the Tri-City Area, it was not unusual to get snow a few weeks before the Winter Equinox signaled the official beginning of winter, given that was the way it was for this particular area of the country.

Turning to look at the wall-mounted clock behind the reception desk, Kim saw it was close to 9 AM now. Her beau followed her gaze and frowned a bit. "Where's Debra?" he asked as his eyes roamed from the clock to the corridor leading to the dojo.

"She's coming, Ron," Kim assured him. "She just needed to take care of something before leaving."

"Taking care of something?" Ron queried with raised eyebrows as he turned to face her.

Raising one eyebrow as the other eye narrowed, Kim kept her green eyes steady on her boyfriend's brown ones to drive the point home. "Yes, Ron. It's the usual monthly thing women go through. Remember?"

His face instantly displayed his recognition. "Oh. **That** something." He sheepishly faced away from her slight glare to look at the falling snow.

Shaking her head at him, her lips quirked into a small amused grin. At least he was smart enough not to make any comments on the subject. Six years ago, when they were 14, Ron one month made a very stupid comment when she was going through her monthly routine. Angry, she gave him a good sock in the face for it, and she had accepted his apology the next day. Since that time, he wisely hadn't made another dense remark on the subject.

That incident, however, had made Ron more aware and sympathetic to her monthly 'needs'. He was even considerate enough to go to the store to buy her 'stuff' when emergencies popped up. Only after they became GF/BF did Kim had realized that his thoughtfulness to buy her 'stuff' was an admirable trait in a man worth to keep. She definitely was keeping this man.

Turning to look down the corridor, Kim's face lit up. "Here she comes," she announced, which made Ron turn to look as well. Debra Oxford Tsuda, Kim's third martial arts workout partner, came down the corridor wearing blue jeans and a pink/reddish parka with her backpack on her back. A scarf headband held her long blonde/brown hair back as it swayed from side-to-side a bit as she walked.

"Okay, I'm ready," Debra grinned as she reached her friends. Looking past them to the scene outside the glass doors, her expression changed to concern. "Oh, we've gained more snow since we've arrived." Her lips formed a frown. "I hope they will not cancel classes today."

Ron gave a small grin as he looked at the freshman student with some disbelief. "Come on, Deb! It'll be great to have a day off for a change."

"Ron!" Irritated, she turned to face him, while Kim rolled her eyes as she shook her head. "I don't want to miss any of my classes!" Debra turned to Kim, pleading. "Kim, they're not going to cancel classes today, are they?"

Sighing, Kim gave a small grin. "We'll just have to see whether they made any announcements at the student center, Debra." With that said, she reached into her coat pocket to pull out a pair of gloves. "Bundle up, you two," she mentioned as she placed on the gloves. "It's a long walk to the center, and I want to get there to have a warm breakfast in the cafeteria."

"Hai," Debra replied as she too took out her gloves and put them on, while Ron did the same. "A good warm breakfast will be welcome in this weather."

After placing on his gloves, Ron gave a thumbs up. "I'm ready to chow down. Even Rufus is ready."

The pink mole rat popped up from the front chest pocket of Ron's parka. "Uh, uh!" he bobbed his head and licked his lips, causing both Kim and Debra to chuckle.

Reaching over, Debra patted Rufus on the head. "Better get back down, Rufus. You should stay inside Ron's pocket until we reach the student center. It's freezing out there."

Looking at the falling snow outside, the pink mole rat shivered and wrapped his arms around himself. "Brrrr!" he said, eyes closed. He immediately dropped back into the pocket to huddle up inside.

After the three students chuckled at Rufus's wise decision, Kim gestured to the doors. "Come on." She led the way outside, followed by Debra with Ron tailing her.

Under the gray skies and falling snow, the three made their way to the student center, their rain/snow-protected footwear leaving their marks on the snow-covered walkways. It was easy to see that not even the salt, left on the paths by the university's ground caretakers, was enough to prevent the snow from mounting up.

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_Gone away is the bluebird,  
Here to stay is a new bird  
He sings a love song,  
As we go along,  
Walking in a winter wonderland.  
_

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With freezing temperatures and falling snow, many people had opted to stay indoors for the time being. The student center was an ideal place for many students to stay warm and relax in company during the mild storm. As a result, it came as no surprise to Loretta Brown to see the student center's cafeteria packed with every table occupied as she walked in. She walked over to a table with three familiar people, who were reading books, their empty food trays in front of them.

"Debbie!" the brown-skin, African-American called out as she approached the table near the center of the room.

"Loretta!" Debra greeted her dorm roommate with a grin, while Kim and Ron watched, grinning themselves. "I thought you said you were going to stay inside our room today."

The sophomore student smirked as she pulled out the only vacant chair of the round table. "That's what I said," she sat down on the chair and unzipped her dark brown coat, "yet, Debbie girl, I thought I'd risk the wrath of Old Man Winter and get myself some warm coffee and bring back enough to last the day."

Debra shook her head and grinned widely at her roommate. "You're really a coffee addict, Loretta." She raised a cup of coco to her lips.

Giving a mock look of being insulted, Loretta placed a hand on her hip as she watched Debra take a sip of her drink. "Addict? Addict!" She pointed to the younger woman. "Deb, just you wait!" Her lips curled into a sly grin. "In the days leading up to the finals, I bet you're going to be downing the caffeine lifeline to stay up longer to study. Since this is your first semester ever here, you'll be learning how rough the finals are going to be."

Blinking, Debra turned to Ron and Kim and both nodded their heads in agreement with Loretta. "She's right, Deb," Kim said with a small sympathetic grin. "You better prepare yourself for long hours of studying in the days before the finals. You'll be needing it."

"Yeah," Ron said, "finals are brutal." He shrugged and added, "Depends on the course, of course."

"Uh-huh!" Rufus agreed as he sat in Ron's food tray. The little guy had many minutes ago finished eating a whole plate of scrambled eggs, leaving the pancakes for Ron.

Seeing her friends were serious, Debra gave a small shrug. "Well, if you say so." She titled her head down to continue reading a physics book. "It shouldn't be any harder than the mid-terms, right?"

Loretta couldn't believe it. "Girlfriend, did you hear what we just told you?" Her eyes narrowed at her roommate who raised her head. "Finals are **brutal**! Midterms are one thing," she waved hand airily, "the finals are another thing entirely."

Kim chimed in, frowning. "Also, don't think university finals are like high school finals, Deb. You should know by now that university work is more demanding than high school."

"Alright, alright!" Upperton U's gymnastic champion raised her hands to ward off any more comments. "I hear you." Her hands dropped back down. "I'm going to be prepared." She pointed to the book in front of her. "Like now, I'm studying for my physics class."

Ron was confused. "Physics? I thought you said you want to be an astronomer." All three women looked at him like he was nuts.

"Ron…" Kim slightly scolded with a frown. "Even I know astronomy is a lot more than just looking through a telescope and watching the night sky."

Debra pointed to the physics book again. "To better understand the universe we're investigating, we have to know the physics behind what makes the universe works."

"Not only that," Loretta added, "astronomers have to be good at handling numbers as well. Physics involve some mathematics, and being a mathematician, I know Deb has to really know physics and math to be a good astronomer."

The blonde man took in what the ladies told him and just shrugged with a grin. "The only physics I know is what gravity and inertia would do to a motorcyclist if he hit another object and what it would take to make a cake explode in the oven."

Both Kim and Debra sputtered/giggled, while Loretta just chuckled.

Kim placed her right hand over that of her boyfriend's left one. "Only you would know what it would take to make a cake explode in the oven." Ron's grin widened into his typical 'Ron smile'.

"Speaking of explosions," Loretta smirked as she caught Kim's attention, "is it true regarding the rumors that your brothers pulled a nasty prank on you this past Saturday, Kim?"

The redhead's expression turned soured. "It's true," she scowled. "Those little monsters planted four golf ball smoke bombs in my closet." Her emerald eyes narrowed as her hands lifted up to clenched around an imaginary neck. "It took me all day Sunday for Monique and I to clean up our dorm room and for me to wash all the clothes in my closet!"

Concerned that she might be raising her voice high enough to attract attention, Ron placed his hand over her fists and gently pushed them back down onto the table. "Amp down, KP. Tim and Jim are grounded now for the time being."

Releasing a breath, Kim closed her eyes and nodded her head. "Yeah, Mom said she grounded them for a month, unless something serious comes up for their missions." Her green eyes opened. "But I know this might not be the last of their antics, now that they have a flying hovercraft." She scowled a bit as she turned to look at Ron. "Even if I went to Canada to attend university, the Tweebs' aircraft would still able to reach me."

Loretta chuckled, shaking her head. "And those two brothers of yours helped Canada retrieve some secret stuff from that loony golfer. I have to say, Kim, they are really following your footsteps."

A small lopsided grin appeared on Kim's face. "Yeah. Now I only wish they stay away from me for the rest of my life." Ron, Loretta, and Debra laughed, while Kim just gave a small chuckle. She knew her brothers would not do that, yet despite what they had done to her, she still loved them deeply.

Rising up from her chair, Loretta thumbed toward the cafeteria service area. "I'm going to get my cup of caffeine. I'll be right back."

Looking back down at her book, Debra shrugged. "I'll be still here. They cancelled morning classes due to the snow." She gestured to the cafeteria's ceiling-high windows and the falling snow outside.

Sensing slight disdain in her roommate's voice, Loretta reached over to patted Debra's shoulder. "Don't you worry, Deb." She gave a grin as Debra raised her head to look up at her. "If the weatherman is right that the snow will stop sometime past noon, the university will likely have the late afternoon and evening classes open. The ground keepers will immediately clear all the walkways, roads, and parking lots within three hours after the snow stops."

Debra blinked. "Really?"

"Really," Kim said with a grin. "They're that quick with their little plows and blowers."

Loretta rubbed Debra's shoulder. "I think your astronomy class will be open tonight."

Giving a thankful smile with her blue eyes shining, Debra nodded. "Thanks, Loretta."

"No problem," Loretta replied, grinning. With a final pat on her friend's shoulder, she pointed to the service area again. "This coffee addict will be right back."

After chuckling at Loretta's retreating back, Kim, Ron, and Debra returned to their reading while Rufus lay down to take a nap.

The snow continued to fall outside, piling more on top of what already was on the ground.

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_In the meadow we can build a snowman,  
Then pretend that he is Parson Brown _

He'll say: Are you married?  
We'll say: No man,  
But you can do the job  
When you're in town.

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Sitting in front of his notebook computer on his desk, George Castle maneuvered the mouse to another section of the architectural drawings on the screen to make corrections. This set of plans would decide his final grade of the semester in his architecture class, and the pony-tailed, brown-haired young man was determined that the plans would not have any minor errors that could bump his grade down.

At least he has the dorm room all to himself, giving him the time to finish any work and relax.

After he finished checking to see that any errors were corrected and double-checking the set of plans again for anything out of place, the sophomore student saved his work and transferred the file to a CD disk to take with him to his next architecture class. He would print out the plans then.

Taking another bite out of a sandwich he had saved yesterday, George took a brief break from schoolwork and logged online to check out websites. He was on some website for computer games when something caught the corner of his eye. Turning to face the windows, he saw the skies were no longer falling snow, which made him smile. He had no idea when it had stopped snowing, since he had been paying attention to whatever was on his computer for the past several hours.

Grinning like a gleeful devil, George turned back to his computer and checked the time. It was five minutes to 1 PM.

"_Great! That should give plenty of time for the event to occur today!"_ he mentally exclaimed as he checked his email, hoping to find a particular letter.

Surely enough he found the letter he was looking for, and after he quickly read it, George gave a loud cheerful whoop as he jumped out of his chair. _"The game is on!"_

Snatching his cell phone from his nightstand, he flipped the lid open and pressed a speed-dial button before placing the phone on his ear.

"Ron-man! It's George! Where are you, buddy?" His lips gave a smirk. "Great! You should be able to see that it has stop snowing now."

He turned to face the windows as he walked up to them. "Yep, that's right, Ron!" he said as his eyes gazed at the snow covered landscape – snow on the ground, on top of buildings, bushes, everywhere. "I received the email notification, and the **game** is on **this** afternoon at 3 PM!" Laughing, George nodded. "Yep, same place! We're so there, given we signed up for it!" After another minute, the young man nodded again. "Sure thing, Ron. I'll see you then."

With those final words, George closed the channel before flipping the phone lid close. As he did this, a ray of sunshine peeked through the clouds, and soon after more sunny rays came through as the clouds began to disburse. With a gleeful expression, he watched as the sunshine made the snow glimmer and sparkle like tinsel and glass ornaments do on a Christmas tree.

"Oh, this is going to be fun!" he said as his eyes continued to gaze at the beautiful picture Mother Nature was creating with sunshine reflecting off the fallen snow.

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_Later on, we'll conspire,  
As we dream by the fire  
To face unafraid,  
The plans that we've made,  
Walking in a winter wonderland.  
_

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Several hours had passed since the snow had stopped. Since then, the university's ground caretakers have plowed and blown least 8 inches of snow from most walkways, outside building stairs, parking lots, and a few roads within the campuses that the local municipality was not responsible for plowing.

More people were out now compared to when the storm was blowing. Some wanted to stretch their legs after being cooped-up for hours indoors. Others finally felt they could venture out to the library, student center, or other places to work, play, or whatever they needed to do. Yet most agreed that the snow had transformed the area into a winter wonderland with the sun reflecting off the snow, icicles hung from buildings' overhangs, and the frozen water from several fountains. There was even some snow on top of the university's clock tower making the structure seem to shine.

Close to 3 PM, many students were gathering in an open field, not far from the boys' dormitories. The boys' dorms could be seen off one side, while other tall structures, which could be seen over the top of the leafless trees, were seen further away from the other sides of the field – the clock tower, concert hall, administration building, and many others. Many onlookers gathered on nearby walkways to watch those on the field, all boys, gather into small groups as they all faced each other.

Off the field, on a snow-free walkway parallel to the nearby dorms, four girls watched the boys, particularly one group of three. Kim, Monique, and Loretta would have stayed away from this event, in which Ron, George, and Felix Renton were participating, but Debra's curiosity has been piqued when Ron had gotten the call from George several hours ago at the student center regarding the 'game'. Since Deb had very much wanted to see this game and this was her first time seeing it as she was a freshman student, Kim had given a call to Monique. Kim explained the sitch, that it would be best for all three 'experienced' girls to be there for Debbie to give details on what this event was all about.

"Okay," Debra said, frowning as she watched as the three young men she knew began creating a large cache of snowballs, "what exactly is this game all about?" Felix's wheelchair was hovering just above the ground, while the chair's mechanical arms helped in the snowball manufacturing.

Looking at the younger woman, Monique, in a red winter parka, smirked as she grandly gestured to the field full of young men. "What does it look like to you, Debbie?" Even Kim and Loretta gazed at Debra with sly grins.

Her blue eyes still on Ron, George, and Felix, Debra's right eyebrow quirked upward. "I say they're preparing for a snowball fight."

"You got it in one, girl!" Loretta grinned as Debra turned to face her roommate. "They do this **every** year on the day of the first snowfall of winter. An all-out snowball war!" She raised her right hand. "Well, winter isn't officially here yet, given the winter equinox is not until another few more weeks." Debra chuckled as Loretta lowered her hand.

Debra's face turned into one of confusion. "I don't get it. I thought I read that snowball fights are forbidden on university grounds." She pointed to the men on the field. "Is this sanctioned by the university?"

Kim nodded. "It is." Crossing her arms, she explained. "Nearly 30 years ago, a group of boys from the dorms asked the university for permission to hold a snowball fight, closely monitored by security. This group had gotten nearly every boy in the dorms signed up for the fight. It had not gone out of control and everyone had a good time. The university found that the number of snowball fights after this authorized event has declined dramatically. Since then, they allowed this event to be held every year with all participants signing a clause not to engage in unauthorized snowball fighting afterward. It worked out pretty well. The boys have their fun for a day, and the university has barely any reckless unwanted snowball fighting. Over time, it became a tradition to have this annual event held on the first snowfall of the winter season."

Looking about at the gathering spectators, Debra noticed a few university security personnel among them. "I see," she said before shrugging and turning back to her friends. "'Least the boys get this out of the system, right?" she smirked.

The three elder girls had expressions of amused disbelief, yet before any of them could say anything to their youngest friend, a male voice was heard from the center of the huge field. "Okay, you snowball freaks!" a male student said using a bull horn so everyone could hear him. It was obvious he was the head organizer, given he was wearing a silly horned Viking helmet and a fur vest over his modern-day winter coat. Two other boys wearing similar Viking costumes, except their helmets didn't have horns, flanked him. "This is it! Our annual Snowball Mayhem Day!" With fists held up, a loud cheer rose from the participants with a few hoots and battle cries. "You know the rules, for there **are** no rules! Just straight out mayhem within the confines of this field! We continue until the sun sets!" The large number of boys cheered again, causing the organizer to grin. "Now are you **ready**?" The boys cried out again, this time louder than before. "Good!" He gestured to his right to his aid who held up a Viking horn. "At the sound of the horn, may the fight commence!" One last loud cheer rose from the participants as the three organizers walked off to the side of the field.

Feeling worried, Debra faced Kim, Monique, and Loretta. "There are no rules?"

Knowing what she was thinking, Loretta patted her friend's shoulder. "Don't you fret, Debbie. No one is going to get hurt."

Kim continued with a reassuring grin. "That's just a big pep talk, Deb, to get everyone worked up." She gestured to the field full of boys. "The clause they signed included a list of rules to assure the safety of everyone." Debra relaxed upon hearing this.

"That's right," Monique replied before her lips quirked into a small smirk. "You're not going to see things like Felix did two years ago."

Debra's face showed her curiosity as well as Loretta, as she hadn't heard of this. "What did Felix do?" Debra asked for both her and Loretta.

Monique broadly grinned. "Girl," she pointed to Felix on the field as his chair's arms have a couple of snowballs ready in hands, "Felix two years ago used those large mech arms to create **cannonball** size snowballs!" Both Debra and Loretta's eyes went wide at this news, while Kim shook her head with closed eyes and an amused grin. "Since then, they added a new rule that such large snowballs were forbidden, thus Felix has to stick with regular hand-size snowballs."

"Was anyone hurt?" Debra queried, thinking of anyone getting hurt from such large snowballs.

Upon hearing her question, Kim opened her eyes and both her and Monique shook their heads and waved one hand negatively. "No, Debra," Kim answered with another reassuring grin. "Felix kept to the rule that snowballs were to be softly packed and not hard packed. Softly packed snowballs would not do any harm."

Debra let out a sigh of relief upon hearing Felix wouldn't do such a thing to hurt anyone. For the gymnastic athlete, it was hard for her to imagine such a sweet, good man would deliberately do harm to another person.

The large, long blare of a Viking horn brought the four women out of their conversation to focus immediately on the field again just as all the boys on the field cried out and starting throwing snowballs at each other. It was mayhem alright, snowballs flying everywhere, boys being hit left and right, and the field looking like a winter war zone with white artillery fire strapping the area.

Finding the entire spectacle amusing, Debra couldn't help but laugh, and her laughter made Kim, Monique, and Loretta giggle as they looked at her enjoying the sight before them.

"This is so silly!" Debra beamed, still giggling as she watched Ron, Felix, and George get covered in snow while firing back with their snowballs.

"Of course it's silly, girl!" Loretta smiled widely. She gestured to the entire field of boys. "They're all acting like a bunch of monkeys!"

"Buffoons!" Monique added, chuckling with crossed arms.

"Idiots!" Kim also added, giggling with one hand on her hip as she turned her head to watch her boyfriend have fun.

A thought came to Debra that made her smirk as she turned to face the other three women. "Will they even last until sunset?" She pointed to the ground on the field. "At this rate, they are not likely have any snow left on the ground before sunset."

Loretta snorted/chuckled. "We had a foot of snow last year, Debbie, and it barely lasted nearly an hour."

Keeping her arms crossed, Monique, smirking, pointed to the snowball war zone. "They'll be lucky this snow will last 40 minutes."

Still grinning, Kim turned to face Debra. "I say 30 minutes." The freshman student giggled.

Being the only one of the four facing the field, Monique noticed something that made her slightly scowl with narrowed eyes. She raised her arm and pointed. "Don't you boys dare!"

Just as Kim, Loretta, and Debra was turning to see what Monique was talking about, they were bombed with snowballs, making them cry out and squeal as they dove for cover behind a nearby snow-covered bench and trashcan. Other spectators ran out of the way as Ron, George, and Felix continued to bomb their four female friends with snowballs.

Kim, Monique, Loretta, and Debra weren't the only victims though. All around the edge of the field, snowballs were also bombing other onlookers, making them flee from the onslaught. With his arms waving, one guy sprinted away while shouting, "Run away! Run away!"

Taking a peek around the trashcan, Debra saw as Felix, devilishly smiling, threw a snowball at her and she immediately ducked back behind the can as George and Ron threw snowballs at the other ladies. "I don't believe this!" Debra said incredulously. "Is this against the rules?"

"Girlfriend," Loretta said annoyed, "this is why I didn't want to come!" She cringed as a snowball hit the back of the bench. "Last year, I was curious to see this event like you. I ended up being pounded by so many snowballs, I felt like a walking snowman!"

Green eyes narrowed, Kim explained as she peered over the bench. "It's a tradition that the boys on the field can bomb any spectators as long as they remain on the field." The redhead ducked as her boyfriend threw a snowball at her.

Monique pointed to Debra. "Debbie, Kim and I didn't even bother to come last year." She scrunched her face for an instant when a snowball hit the back of the bench in front of her face. "When we were freshmen, Ron and Felix started bombing us and soon some other boys joined them. We were so outnumbered that not even Kim could try to charge them without getting bombed silly."

After two more snowballs splattered against the trashcan, Upperton U's star gymnastic champion, feeling her ire rising, poked her head around the trashcan and shouted, "Will you three stop it?"

"Make us!" three amused male voices replied before they launched more snowballs.

"That does it!" Debra cried out after the last bombardment. With an angry face, she turned to the other three women. "I say we charge them! They're not being help by the other boys, and we outnumber them 4 to 3!"

Blinking with amazement, Loretta turned to Monique, who turned to Kim, who also was blinking. Pointing to Debra while still facing Kim, Monique said, "You know what? She's **right**!"

For the first time, Kim now realized they had the advantage this year. Narrowing her eyes in determination, the redhead worldwide heroine nodded to her three companions, who nodded back with equally determined expressions. Kim and Debra took off their backpacks before all four took snow off the bench to pack into snowballs.

Once they were ready, Kim quietly ordered, "We'll charge them as soon as they launch their next assault." Surely enough a moment later, several snowballs splattered against the trashcan and bench.

"NOW!" Kim hollered, and all four women quickly rose from their hiding place, threw their snowballs, and charged the three men, taking them by complete surprise. Debra shouted "BANZAI!" when she charged.

Kim agilely avoided Ron's attempts to hit her back as she circled around him, picking up more snow and throwing them at him. With a feral grin, she pounced behind him and pinned him to the ground, mashing his face into the wet snow.

"It's over, Ronald!" the redhead said with a triumphant grin. "You can't win!"

Laughing, Ron managed to roll out from her grip, took some snow, and threw it onto her head, making her cry out. "Over? I'm just getting warm up!" he replied with an evil Zorpex grin and voice.

The couple continued to dodge and play each other with snow flying between them.

In the meantime, Loretta was almost in a similar situation with George. Given that she wasn't a martial artist like Kim, she couldn't dodge George's throws or even tackle or pin him to the ground. Instead the New Yorker just went with the old fashion attack of just dumping as much snow on the Delaware native as she could.

"You know what, Castle?" Loretta asked as she pounded him with another snowball. "You should change your last name to Mud."

Throwing some loose snow into her hair, George chuckled. "Yeah, and 'mud' spelled backwards is d-u-m. I'll keep Castle, thank you very much."

Felix on the other hand had **two** women to fight off. Both ladies gleefully circled him and attacked him from all sides while his chair floated a several feet above the ground. Yet his wheelchair's cyber robotic arms were able to just as quickly throw snow back at Debra and Monique as fast as they could rearm.

"You know what I'm thinking, Monique?" Debra slyly grinned at Felix while picking up more snow. "I say we should bring Mr. Renton back down to Earth."

Throwing a snowball at Felix and hitting him in the shoulder, Monique mischievously smirked. "I'm with you, Debbie! Zombie Boy here does need to come back down to Earth. He's trying to fly out of our reach!"

Ducking a snowball Felix threw at her, the petite gymnastic woman quickly ran and jumped onto the side of Felix's wheelchair, completely astonishing him. Taking a guess, based on past observations of Felix transforming his chair, Debra hit a button on the right-side arm console, and soon after, his wheelchair floated back down to Earth and transformed to normal mode.

"Got you, Mr. Renton!" Debra cried out in victory as she smudged the snow in her other hand into his hair.

Monique immediately joined her fighting companion as she jumped over Felix's left side and bashed his head with more snow. "Yield to us, Zombie Boy!" she laughed, seeing the brown-haired young man couldn't control his chair's robot arms with her and Debra on top of him.

"Never!" Felix laughed as he struggled against his two female opponents.

"Yes, you will!" both ladies shouted with impish expressions, just before they titled his wheelchair and made him fell backwards onto the snowy ground. Debra took advantage to start tickling him, while Monique just hit him with more snow.

"No fair!" Felix shouted between gawfs of laughter, unable to defend himself. "No fair!"

As the four young women battled the three men, they were all unaware of the bigger battle that had escalated on the field. The four women's actions prompted other onlookers to fight back against those on the field, thus many on the sides of the field began throwing snowballs at the boys on the field while the boys fought back. More snow went flying than ever before as the situation turned into a fun free-for-all.

"WHO CARES FOR THE STINKING RULES!" a male voice bellowed from somewhere.

On the walkway, not far from the bench and trashcan Kim, Monique, Loretta, and Debra had hidden behind, a university security golf cart stood. One young security officer was hiding behind the right side of the cart, while an older officer just stood on the other side, facing the mayhem as he leaned on the left side of the cart.

"Should we stop this, Chief?" the young male officer said to his boss just before ducking as a snowball whizzed overhead.

Taking a sip of his warm coffee in a styrofoam cup, the elder, graying-haired man shook his head and grinned. "Na, it'll die down on its own." He looked over his shoulder at his subordinate. "This is the first time you've witness this annual event." He gestured to the chaotic scene with his cup. "This will let the kids get it out of their systems, so we can have peace for the rest of the winter." His head turned again to face the field as his grin broadened. "Besides, they know better than to try to hit any security officer. They'd be stupid to do so."

A snowball splattered against the cart a foot from the Chief's right side. Looking where the snowball hit the cart, the Chief softly chuckled and shook his head as he raised his coffee cup to his lips. "Then again, there were a few close calls over the years." He took a sip of coffee and sighed.

"Ah, I remember," the Chief said as he again faced the field and the ensuing battle. "30 years ago, I was one of the students who petitioned for this event." He smiled warmly at the memories. "Those were good times. Good times." He took another sip of coffee, while the rookie officer continued to crouch on the other side of the cart, avoiding being hit from flying snowballs regardless what the Chief had said.

The annual Snowball Mayhem Day carried on, living up to its name.

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_In the meadow we can build a snowman,  
And pretend that he's a circus clown  
We'll have lots of fun with mister snowman,  
Until the alligators knock him down.  
_

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Taking a sip of warm coco from a plastic thermal cup, Debra studied her astronomy notes as she sat cross-legged on her dorm bed. Hair neatly up in a pigtail, she felt clean and warm under the white, knitted sweater and black slacks. A small fond smile formed on her lips as she looked up to gaze out the windows to the darkness of night outside, for the sun had set nearly three hours ago.

A chuckle across from her made her turn to face Loretta, who was looking at her with a sly grin as she lay on her bed, head propped up on couple of pillows with a book in her hands. "Still thinking of what we did to the boys?"

Debra's grin widened as she nodded. "Hai. That was fun."

An hour after it had started, the snowball fight ended, thus ending Snowball Mayhem Day. All participants went away quite joyful and happy to have had so much insane fun, even if most of them were wet from the snow.

Feeling chilled yet exhilarated, the entire gang went back to their prospective dorm rooms to take a warm shower or bath and change into dry clothes. Upon returning to their dorm room, Loretta had given Debra the first go at the shower, and after both ladies were cleaned and into new clothes, Loretta had helped braid Debra's hair just as the sun was setting. The two had been studying since then.

Loretta chuckled again. "You know what, Debbie? I'm thinking I'll attend Snowball Mayhem Day next year. If the boys try to wallop me like they did today, I'll follow your example and just pound them back!" Both girls laughed.

Her laughter dying down, Debra, still grinning, caught sight of the tiny, ceramic Christmas tree on the right, back corner of her roommate's desk. It slowly rotated on its stand with lights blinking. From the little tree, her blue eyes turned to rest on the tinsel and holly she had placed on the lampshade of her night table's lamp, the lamp's soft light reflected nicely off the tinsel. She felt very much into the holiday cheer.

Turning to face her friend again, Debra saw she was looking at her with a small cheerful grin. "Feeling the holiday spirit?" Loretta asked. The younger woman nodded, and the native New Yorker sighed. "Same with me, Deb. With snow outside and us warm inside, it certainly does feel like the holidays, especially after the fun we had today." She grinned as memories came to her. "I don't recall many white Christmases when I was growing up in New York. Most times it snowed **after** Christmas."

"Not me," Debra said, still grinning. "I always have snow before Christmas in Japan, and it snowed before Christmas in Middleton, so I did not ever have a Christmas without snow."

Loretta gave an amused snort. "Lucky you." Debra chuckled in reply.

Looking at the digital clock on her night table, Debra noticed the time, before she placed the cup on the nightstand and scooted to the side of her bed to reach down for her winter shoes. "I better prepare myself. It's close to time for me to attend my astronomy class," she said as she placed on the shoes.

"You don't want to miss your favorite class," Loretta teased.

As she tied her shoes, Debra looked up at her with a knowing smirk. "That's right. I certainly will not miss my favorite class." Loretta chuckled.

Finishing her shoes, the girl collected her notebook and placed it in the backpack on her desk's chair. She picked up her parka off the back of the chair and found it was now pretty much dried. Donning the winter coat, she zipped it up and flipped her braided hair out from under the jacket before picking up the backpack.

"Have fun, Deb!" Loretta winked as the freshman student headed toward the dorm room's door.

"I will!" Debra grinned before she exited the room. After she left, Loretta turned back to reading the book in her lap.

Exiting her dorm building, Debra, backpack on her back, placed her gloved hands in her coat's pockets. It was a brisk, clear night, and it was cold enough for her breath to cloud-up in front of her. Yet the cold didn't dampen her spirits, for she saw signs of the holiday cheer around her, from the Christmas tree seen in her dorm building's lobby to Christmas lights hung and displayed on the inside of some dorm rooms' windows on her building and the one next door.

Looking up to the third floor of the next door girl's dormitory building, Upperton U's star athlete spotted the individual she knew would be likely looking out the window at her now. Debra grinned and waved to Kim, whom replied with one of her own. Afterward, Debra walked away among the various people walking about, heading toward her evening astronomy class.

After watching Debra strolled away, Kim, her hair in a simple ponytail, turned to sit on her desk's chair as she grinned. Fingers on the keyboard of her notebook computer, she resumed typing up a report for her psychology class.

"Debbie is on her way to her astronomy class," Monique commented from her bed with a knowing grin. The African-American girl was wearing blue jeans and a warm cotton shirt, as she lay sideways on her bed with a notebook in front of her and pencil in hand.

Kim gave a small chuckle. "What else?" Three hours ago, after taking a long hot bath after Monique had taken a shower, the redhead had donned warm black tights and her favorite turtleneck, purple sweater with a single lighter purple strip running horizontal across the middle.

Monique's grin turned sly. "Was she in a cheerful mood?"

"Of course she was," Kim answered, briefly glancing over her left shoulder at her best friend.

"I wonder if it is because she's heading toward her favorite class or we trashed the boys today." Monique smirked on the thought.

"Maybe both," Kim replied, smirking herself on the thought of what she had done to her boyfriend hours ago.

"That sure was fun," Monique said as she tapped her pencil on her notebook. "I think next year if the boys dare fire on innocent bystanders, everyone on the sidelines will fire back at them."

Bobbing her head as her grin broadened into a full smile, Kim continued to type. "Oh yes! The boys will get it next year. If I had known spectators are allowed to fight back, I would have done so two years ago."

"True," Monique agreed, "yet we were then outnumbered, girlfriend, compared to today."

"True," Kim said. After a moment of silence, her lips curved into a warm, thoughtful grin. "Today was a nice day, especially for the holiday season."

Monique chuckled with a warm grin. "I can't argue with that." The raven-haired woman returned to writing notes into her notebook.

Temporarily stopping her typing, Kim rotated her head to look at the Christmas wreath hung in the center window. It was a simple ornament she and Monique agreed to display their holiday spirit without the need for elaborate decorations, which required more time and effort to put up.

Turning back to her computer and her work, Kim surely was in a holiday mood. The decorations and the snow outside made it all feel like the holidays. On top of that, Monique had her notebook computer, sitting on her desk, set to one of the satellite music channels. The channel was playing Christmas carols/music, and Kim heard the last verse of a song that definitely fit everything that has happened today.

_When it snows, ain't it thrilling,  
Though your nose gets a chilling  
We'll frolic and play, the Eskimo way,  
Walking in a winter wonderland._

The End

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After-story A/Ns:

1) The Christmas carol pretty much fit the theme and idea I had for this story, thus it was fitting that the story's title be the same as the carol. The use of the first and last verse of the song as bookmarks for the story's beginning and ending also was quite fitting. So even though this story isn't quite a Holiday Season story (the next story will likely be a Holiday Season story), I found it enjoyable to the winter wonderland theme. :)

2) I have no ideas what kind of winter traditions real-life universities/colleges do. I pretty much like the notion that Upperton U has its own set of traditions, and Snowball Mayhem Day came to me as I thought what traditions UU might have. It was just a fun silly tradition that I know that it is very unlikely any real-life university/college would have. After all, I couldn't imagine winter fun without snowball fights, and the mayhem fun the TUY gang had come out pretty well. :)

3) If anyone may or may not know, I made a small tribute to Mattk's 'Blood Bond' trilogy at the beginning of this story. The tribute particularly is for the story "Blood Bond III: Anything for Love", which I found an interesting read. So if you haven't yet read his stories, I recommend them. You'll able to find Mattk's stories here at FF-dot-net. :)

4) I end these A/Ns with the entire song of Winter Wonderland below for everyone's enjoyment.

Winter Wonderland

_Sleigh bells ring, are you listening,  
In the lane, snow is glistening  
A beautiful sight,  
We're happy tonight.  
Walking in a winter wonderland. _

Gone away is the bluebird,  
Here to stay is a new bird  
He sings a love song,  
As we go along,  
Walking in a winter wonderland.

In the meadow we can build a snowman,  
Then pretend that he is Parson Brown

He'll say: Are you married?  
We'll say: No man,  
But you can do the job  
When you're in town.

Later on, we'll conspire,  
As we dream by the fire  
To face unafraid,  
The plans that we've made,  
Walking in a winter wonderland.

In the meadow we can build a snowman,  
And pretend that he's a circus clown  
We'll have lots of fun with mister snowman,  
Until the alligators knock him down.

When it snows, ain't it thrilling,  
Though your nose gets a chilling  
We'll frolic and play, the Eskimo way,  
Walking in a winter wonderland.


End file.
